I come to NYC about one week every month or so. I share an apartment with a few people I work with in midtown (west).

Last wkend I decided to drop in to a yoga studio in my neighborhood. Then I looked at the pricing: $18 for a drop in? Wow.

The 10 class passes (which expire in 3 months) and other discount buys (unlimited monthly) would be difficult to extract value from, given the time I spend in NYC.

Then I found a great solution: the new student special.

Many studios in NYC, in an effort to lure new customers, have specials like $20 for a week of yoga (perfect!). I looked at Google Local for all the studios in NYC. It’s quite possible to spend a few years hopping from studio to studio, enjoying new student discounts.

Another option is the “community” classes several of them have. These are classes taught by new instructors. The classes are discounted (one I am heading to now is $8).

Yoga has become so expensive – and I can see why. Any class is going to be expensive due to the cost of the instructor and space in NYC. But at $18 a drop-in, you think twice about doing yoga.

I started doing this 12 years ago.I like to go somewhere remote – the coast of Northern California and Oregon have been my favorite destinations. I like to get a small, cozy place by the water.

Whereas typical vacations are usually about exploring your surroundings, I like the Me Vacation because I explore….well, me.

I bring my laptop and my guitar. I do a lot of yoga. I bring books. I write. I check-in with myself.This year I am finishing a work version of the Me Vacation. People at work are referring to it as a “sabbatical.”

I’ve been holed up for a week in my apartment designing the 2008 line of SEO products.There are some nice tricks to making a work week like this exciting (well, I love my work, so it would have been anyway).

I went to Trader Joe’s before the week started and spent $100 (which as you probably know, goes so far at that place) on tons of tasty, pre-prepared meals (well, I did cook once), and other treats. They have a Cherry Vanilla “soy-cream” that is so amazing.And what made this week even more enjoyable was the rain.

Having the heat cranked up, a hot pot of tea, and hearing the rain beat down on the roof as I designed exciting new products and listened to Groove Salad on beloved SOMAfm was my version of work heaven.

On the topic of rain – I love the rainy season in San Francisco. It reminds me of what a cozy city we have.